Process of manufacturing metal tubing.



M. B. LLOYD.

PROCESS OE' MANUFACTURING METAL TLIMNG.

APPLIOA'MON HLLD APR.G.1912. nmmwm MAY 13,101

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M. B. LLOYD.

PROCESS 0F MANUFACTURING METAL TUBING.

APPLIUATION FILED APR. c. 1912. nmmwnv MAY 1s. 1914.

1,120,209.4 Patent-.ea Dec. 8, 1914.

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PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING METAL TUBING.

APPLICATION YILED APR.6.1012. BENBWED MAY 13, 1914.

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M1 B. LLOYD. PRGESS 0F MANUFACTURING METAL TUBING.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6. 1912. BBNBWED MAY 13,1914.

1,1 20,209. Patentend Dec. 8, 1914.

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UNITED STATES PATENT onirica. t

MARSHALL BURNS LLOYD, or MENOMINEE, MIGHIGAN, AssmNon, BY MEsNE essieu MENTS', To THE Hmmm IRON e STEEL COMPANY, or Erma, omo, A commm- TION 0F OHIO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING METAL TUBING.

y Patented nee. s, 1914.

Application tiled April 6, 1912, Serial N. 689,093. Renewed Hay 13, 1914. Serial No. 838,389.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, MARSHALL B. LLOYD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of nMenominee, county Vof Menominee, and State of Michigan, have invented a certain new, useful, and Improved Process of Manufacturing Metal Tubing, of which the following is a full, true, clear, and exact description, such as will enable other skilled in the art to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the art of making metallic tubing and has particular reference to improvements in the manufacture of tubing from strip metal.

The object of my invention is to rapidly and economically manufacture tubing of any cross-sectional shape from strip metal, and a further object of my invention 1s to produce from strip metal stock butt welded metal tubing which shall be of any desired cross-sectional sha e.

Other objects o my invention will 'appear hereinafter.

My invention resides in a process of manufacturing tubing from raw stock, such as cold or hot rolled strip steel, and comprises a succession of steps whereby iat strlp stock is converted mto a complete buttwelded tube of desired cross section.

My novel process further consists in initially or preliminarily forming the fiat strip of metal into a tube of non-circular crosssection, for instance, oval with its edges in seam relation. and while the tube is in this condition and vaided by its non-circularity, welding the edges to close the seam, and then forming the welded tube into the desired cross sectional shape; it being under-l stood, however, that the tube after being welded may be left in its initially formed condition. if desired.

More specifically defined my improved process consists in lirst forming or bending the strip of metalto give it a preliminary non-circular shape with its edges in abutting relation, moving it forward in this condition at a constant speed and utilizingits noneireularity to present its seam in a definite predetermined line, progressively welding the seam, with or without the aid of pressure or auxiliary metals, as fast as the tube travels: and then, if desired, subjecting the weldedl tube to the action of mechanisms which cause it to assume its final shape. y

The accompanying drawings forming a 'the dies or rolls for giving the tube a final circular form after its seam isA welded; Figs. 10 and 11 are enlarged sectional views of the mechanism for moving the tube for ward and positioning its seam as the welding thereof takes place; Fig. 12V is a top plan view of the tube propelling and positioning `mechanism; and Fig. 13 is atransverse vertical sectional view` of said mechanism showinthe Welder.

he strip of metal 7 '(Fig. 2) usually comes from the mills eut or rolled flat to the width and thiclmessfor the desired size and shape of tubing, and either in tube lengths or in lon er lengths to be cut inta tube lengths. I circular tubing T, such as shown in section in Fig. 6, is the ultimate form desired, the strip stock 7 is passed through the first step of my process, that is the initial or prelimmary forming step and caused to assume a non-circular sectional shape, for instance, oval, as in Fig. 4. After being formed in this manner this initially or pre-formed tube is subjected to a welding operation which closes the seam and places the tube in condition for the final forming operation. `It must4 be understood,

however, that while this latter operation is quite essential to the production of extremely accurate and perfect tubing, especially circular tubing, it may be dispensed with in eases where the tubing is to be used in the non-circular formas initially formed and welded, although I find that even in such cases a finishln operation produces more satisfactory resu ts.

One of the .important advantages in forming the metal into what might be called a preliminary tube is that the tube can be better manipulated and the seam accurately welded, and after having been wel ded it ossesses all the characteristics of socal ed seamless or drawn tubing and is thus admirably cadapted to one or more drawing or compressing operations to give it its ultimate shape and nish.

In the drawings lf have shown a simple .3 but effective apparatus A for .forming the strip of metal intoV a tube. This apparatus consists of two sets of rolls 1 and 2. My process contemplates the use of more or less rolls or dies for this purpose. is fed to the rst set of rolls 1 wherein it receives a partial tube or half oval form, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 7, and from these rolls the metal passes preferably directly into a second set 2 which completes i5 the oval tube shown in Figs. 4 and 8. 1t

will be. noted (Fig. 1) that the edges t of the strip are thus brought into abutting relation, upon a more or less straight line. The forming rolls or dies are mounted in alinement in a suitable frame A supported on legs or standards A and may be driven. by any suitable mechanism (not shown). The upper roll of each set is adjustable to and from its respective lower roll by means 5 of the screws 5 and 6 for the purpose of regulating the forming pressure upon the metal. 'llhe strip of metal having been given the form of a non-circular tube, in this case oval, presents the cross sectional appearance shown in Fig. 4 and is ready to have its sea-m s closed. This function is accomplished by the application of heat, with or without the aid of pressure or auxiliary metals or both as circumstances may determine. I

find that excellent results areobtained by --heating the tube to such temperature that the edges t ofthe tube are caused to flow together, and accompanying the heat with just sufficient pressure to properly effect a g strong, uniform weld. The mechanism B which lf have designed is admirably adapted to the performance of these functions. Herein the prpgressive or continuous weld is accomplished by a relative movement be- 4 5 tween the tube and a suitable heating device.

In this mechanism or apparatus this continuous welding relation is obtained by propellingor moving the tube longitudinally forward, preferably at! a constant speed,

relatively to a stationary burner which plays 5o traveling, tube-propelling and positioning mechanism above which is arranged an adi 4justable torch H which is adapted to play a localized welding flame upon the tube seam as it moves along thereunder, these parts C3 being mounted in operative relation upon The strip 7 a continuous vise since it acts in the nature of a vise, being in fact composed of many #little vises arranged in a traveling series to successively clamp the tube. lin clamping the tube the vise automatically performs the important function of exerting a torsional or twisting force upon the non-circular tube to correct the irregularities therein and present the seam invalinement with the welding flame. The active portion of the tube carrier runs along the upper side of a bed plate D (Fig. 13). are mounted upon and carried by a pair of endless chains c arranged in parallel, and running over the forward and rear sprockets 8 and 9 (Figs. 1, 11 and 12). The upper or active portion of the rotary vise travels in the direction of the arrow Fig. 12) along the top of the bed plate D and the lower portion below the bed plate/in the cooling trough `6 carried in the. frame.' The sprockets are mounted upon forward and rear shafts 10 and 11, respectively, the rear shaft 11. being driven by means of a suitable train of gears 12 from the main shaft 13 which is journaled in suitable bearings beneath the bed plate D. The shaft 13 in turn is driven through speed reducing worm gearing 14 from a belt driven shaft 15.

Suitable clutch mechanism 16, for starting and stopping the carrier, is interposed in the train of gears 12 between the shaft 11 and the main shaft. Each ofthe chains C carries a series of the vise sections or clamping members 18 heretofore mentioned, the opposed sections being arranged in pairs, thereby forming a continuous vise composed of many short sections. As the whole mecl1 anismtravels the sections or pairs of jaws riseup around' the forward end thereof into alinement with the tube which they successively clamp and convey to the flame of the burner. 'llhe jaws (Figs. 10 and 11) have removable gripping faces 18 which are con formed tothe shape of the tube and which are preferably arranged to present to the flame the uppermost portion of the metal contiguous to the seam. The shape of the tube and the location of the seam are determining factors in the particular arrange! ment of the vise. lin the o`val tube shown, the

' seam is substantially in the plane of the longer axis of the oval and the vise is arranged to position the longer axis vertically. llhese conditions are altered somewhat when the tube seam lies in a different line than along the major axis. rfhe sections move laterally and close upon the tube and in so domg they twist or rotate the tube and The vise sectionsIVA the width of the tube so that as they rise.

up around the front end of the traveling -vise they will freely clearithe tube. The

vise sections enter a long channel along the top of the bed plate D. Thischannel is formed by two long parallel guides Gr and G (Fig. l2). having their forward ends 22 flared so that as the jaws enter the forward end of the channel these fiared ends act as cams to force the jaws gradually toward each other and into clamping engagement with the tube. The clamping pressure exerted by the vise is maintained during the welding operation to hold the edges t of the metal in abutted relation while the flame plays upon them. This pressure also I preferably exists for a sufficient time afterward to allow the joint to cool, this being one of ,the reasons for making the vise comparatively long. The rear end of the cony veyer is provided with means for positively opening the jaws so as to relieve the pressure and release the tube. This opening mechanism comprises a wedgeeshaped cam 23, shown in dotted lines .in Fig. 12, which is positioned between the jaws. It acts to positively spread the jaws successively as they pass downward around the rear end of the conveyer. The guide or side wall G of the channel is adjustable to vary the width between the jaws by means of the set screws 24 and is clamped in its adjusted position by the'bolts 25. The other guide G, however, is not fiXedly clamped upon the bed plate D, but instead is provided with pressure regulating springs 26 interposed between the ends of the set screws 27 and the outer face-of the guide, the springs be ing set in sockets 26 in the guide to prevent their displacement. Each vise section has small rollers 27 which reduce the friction incident to the movement of the jaws through the channel.

Obviously any suitable form of heating means may be used instead of the gas flame. I have, however, obtained excellent results with a gas flame composed of oxygen and y the edges by heat wlth or wlthout the and of acetylene in proper proportions. Thus the temperature,'position and direction of the welding flame can be controlled by an oxyacetylene torch or burner H adjustablypositioned above the vise. This'torch has a nozzle H pointed vdiagonally downward toward the front of the machine and adapted to impinge or play aflame directly upon -theseam of the tube as it travels. -This flame heats'to a welding or flowing temperature only' the metal contiguousto the seam of the tube, and there is no tendency for the tube to crush or become weakened. The tube having been given its initial or pre 'liminary non-circular form and its seam .shaping operation will be-necessary. For instance, the oval tube herem described may be used in its oval form. I prefer to carry the tube through one final shaping step to make it circular. The tube in its welded condition has substantially all ofthe characteristics of the so-called seamless tubing and may be subjected to one or more drawing. 1'olling.sta1nping or compressing operations to reduce it in diameter or change its cross-sectional shape. The apparatus illustrates one way in which these functions may be performed. This comprises a set of compression dies 30 and 31 operating to compress the tube into circular form, as shown in Fig. 9. The dies are arranged in a suitable frame, the lower die 30 being stationary and the upper one being reciprocated by the member 32. This is driven by a belt pulley from any suitable source of power. ,These dies preferably compress a portion of the length of the tube at a time, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, hence it is desirable to have an automatic feeding device to feed the tube thereto. In the drawings I have shown a feeding device comprising a lever 34 pivoted at 35 to the frame of the machine. One arm of this lever has a slot and pin connection 36 with the reciprocating member, and the other arm extends downward and operatesthe feeding clutch 37 so that when the machine is in operation the tube is fed intermittently to the dies by which it is compressed into circular shape.

It is to be understood that my 4novel process is well adapted to the manufacture and production of tubes of other shapes and sizes, such as used in the various industries. The apparatus for carrying my process into effect in the manufacture of different sizes and shapes of tubes may of course be varied as necessary to meet the different conditions. The terms weld, welded and welding as used herein are to be construed liii their broad sense as meaning the uniting of pressure and with or without the use of auxiliary metals such as brass, iron and steel.

-The welding mechanism herein disclosed constitutes the subject matter of my companion application of even date herewith Serial Number 689,094.

I claim:

l The herein described process of manufacturing metal tubes which consists in initially forming strip metal into a tube of non-circular cross section, moving the tube forward and exerting torsional strain there- 'on by reason of its non-circularity to force its seam into a predetermined position, and welding the seam of the tube as it travels with its seam in said predetermined position.

2. rlhe herein described process of manufacturing metal tubes which consists in ini tially forming strip metal into a tube of non-circular cross section, moving the tube forward at constant speed and simultaneously exerting torsional strain thereon by reason of its non-circularity to forcibly position its seam as it travels, and welding the seam of the tube while in position.

3. |llhe herein described process of manufacturing metal tubes -which consists in initially forming strip metal into a tube of noncircular cross. section, moving the formed non-circular tube forward and eX- erting torsional strains on thetube by reason of its non-circularity to straighten its seam, and welding the seam of the tube as it is straightened and, while the tube is in movement, causing a welding pressure at the seam. Y

4. The herein described process of manufacturing metal tubes which consists in initially forming strip metal into a tube of non-circular cross section, propelling the formed non-circular tube forward and torsionally forcing its seam into welding position, welding the seam of the tube as the .tube travels and then nally'forming said A et* tube to the desired cross section.

5. The herein described process whiclr consists in initially forming a strip of meta-l into a tube of non-circular cross section, propelling the tube 4forward at constant speed and exerting torsional strains on the tube by reason of its noncircularity to force its seam into a predetermined position, heating the tube to welding temperature and simultaneously causing pressure at the seam to progressively weld the latter as the tube travels, and, after the tube is welded, subjecting it to an additional forming operation to give it a final cross-sectional shape. V v

6. The herein described process of producing seamless tubing from sheet metal which consists in forming a strip of sheet metal of'lsuitable width into a tube of nonstraight line, welding the seam as fast as the tube travels, and, after the seam is welded, compressing the tube to give it a different cross sectional form.

Ilififliie herein described process of promettant duc-ing seamless tubing from sheet metal which consists in forming a strip of sheet metal of suitable width into a tube of noncircular cross section, propelling the tube longitudinally forward at constant speed, and simultaneously acting torsionally upon the non-circular tube to forcibly twist its seam into a predetermined position and progressively welding the positioned seam.

8. The herein described process of producing seamless tubing from sheet metal which consists in forming a strip ofsheet metal of suitable width into a tube of noncircular cross section, propelling the tube longitudinally forward at constant speed and simultaneously exerting rotative pres sure upon the non-circular tube to position its seam in a straight line, heating the positioned seam as the tube travels to form a continuous weld, and finally compressing the welded tube to change its cross sectional form.

9. llFhe herein described process of manufacturing metallic tubes from sheet metal which consists in propelling a strip of sheet metal of suitable width longitudinally forward. and forming it into a tube of non-circular cross section with its seam in butt relation, rotating the non-circular tube to guide the seam in a straight line, playing a welding ame upon and simultaneously exerting pressure at the straightened seamA of the .tube to continuously weld the seam as fast as the tube travels.

10. The herein described process which consists in propelling a strip of sheet metal of suitable width longitudinally forward and forming it into a tube of non-circular cross section with itseseam in butt relation, exerting a rotative effort upon the tube to cause the seam thereof to assume a predetermined position, playing a welding flame upon the positioned seam and simultaneously pressing the edges to progressively weld the seam as fast as the tube travels,v

and finally compressing the welded tube to perfect its cross section.

1l. The process of manufacturing circular tubing from sheet metal whichconsists in forming the flat, raw material into a tube of oval cross section, propelling said tube forwardly at constant speed, impinging a welding flame upon the seam thereof as the tube travels, compressing and simultaneously rotating the tube to forcibly twist its seam into proper alinement with the flame, and, after being welded, subjecting the oval tube to an additional forming operation to give it a circular cross section.

l2. rll`he hereindescribed process of making seamless circular tubing which consists in preliminarily forming strip metal into an oval tube with its edges in butt relation,

aline its seam and maintain its edges in said relation, impinging a welding flame upon the alined seam of the tube, and compressing the welded tube to change it from oval to circular cross section.

13. The'herein described process of manufacturing metallic tubing which consists in forming the raw stock into a non-circular tube, moving the tube forward and utilizing the non-circularity of the tube for presenting its seam in a straight line, and exposing the seam to the action of a Welding flame as the tube travels.

1-1. The herein described process of inaking seamless tubing which consists in initially forming a metal strip of suitable width into a non-circular tube, moving said `tube longitudinally forward and utilizing the non-circularity of the tube for straightening it and presenting its seam in a predetermined position, subjecting the seam to the action of a stationary welding flame While the tube' is in movement, and simultaneously exerting a welding pressure at the seam of the tube.

15. The herein described process of making metallic tubing which consists in longitudinally rolling a strip of Hat metal of suitable Width into a non-circular tube lwith the edges of the strip in substantial abutment, moving said tube longitudinally forward at a constant speed past a Welding burner with the seam exposed to the action of said burner fiame to join said edges, and ten forming said tube to final desired s ape. p

16. The process of making tubing which consists in longitudinally rolling a strip of metal into a tube of non-circular section having a longitudinal seamformed by the abutting edges of the strip, applying lateral pressure upon the tube and thereby causing it to rotate and position its seam in a predetermined straight line, moving said tube forward and exposing successive ortions of the seam to the action of a wel ing llame.

17. The process of making tubing which consists in rolling up a strip of metal into a tube of non-circular section havin a longitudinal seam formed by the abutting edges 4o1 the' strip, moving said tube Vforward under lateral compression to forcibly cause the device which acts #to grip from strip metal, subjecting it to the action A of a drawing device serving to carry it past a heating device and simultaneously adjusting the tube with the seam thereof in proper position with respect to the heating device, said adjustment of the tube follow-ing by virtue of the non-circular shape of the tube and the complementary curved portions of y the drawing device and, after the tube is welded, subjecting it to a further forming operation to give it a final perfect cross sectional shape.

19. The herein described process of manufacturing tubing which consists in forming the raw stock into a non-circular tube subjecting the tube to the action of a drawing the tube and because of the non-circularity of the tube automatically twists or torsionally acts upon the tube in manner to aline the tube in a straight line and exposing the tube with the alined seam to a Welding flame as the tube travels. i

20. The herein described process of making seamless circular tubing which consists in initially forming strip metal into an oval tube with its edges in butt relation, subJecting the tube to the-action of a drawing device shaped in such manner that the clamping of the drawing device upon the noncircular tube acting, if the tube 1s presented out of proper alinement to rotate the tube until it assumes the proper posltion, lmplnging a Welding flame upon the alined seam of the tube, and compressing the Welded tube to change it from oval to other desired cross sectional shape.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 4my hand this 11th day of March, 1912, in

th e f two subscribnnr witnesses. e preselllllSHALL BUR i LLOYD.

Witnesses:

' Hmm C. PETERSON,

CHARLES GILBERT HAWLEY. 

